Summer is one of the most difficult times of year to dress for. Though it’s a season of beautiful jersey dresses and bright colours, it’s also a season of being hot and uncomfortable. Luckily, with the right summer wardrobe knowledge it’s possible to have a wardrobe that’s stylish and leaves you feeling your best right through until autumn. That means no uncomfortably tight shorts, no painful sandals and no heavy fabrics that leave you a sweaty mess by lunchtime.

Rules for a Stylish and Comfortable Summer Wardrobe

Choose loose items and avoid tight-fitting dressesIt may sound simple, but many people underestimate the benefits of choosing loose fabrics for your summer wardrobe. Though it may be tempting to choose tighter items with little fabric with the theory that less clothing means you’ll stay cooler, this isn’t always the case. Loose linen trousers, flowy tops with big sleeves and oversized jersey dresses are comfortable and look great. Plus, you won’t be left with any unsightly sweat marks on those really hot days. The Robin Dress is a great example of how something that be looser in fit and still flattering.

Opt for light fabrics over heavier alternatives
Just because something is in the summer section of your favourite store doesn’t mean it’ll make for a good addition to your wardrobe. A lot of summer clothing – formal tops and dinner dresses especially – are made using heavy fabric that hangs close to the body. Though they may tick all the boxes in terms of style, the chances are you won’t feel comfortable in the heat. Most trends will be available in summer-friendly fabrics if you shop around. The Blue Carmen Top and No Frills Pink Top are gorgeous additions for any summer wardrobe.

Remember, comfortable shoes can be stylish too!
Many of us hear the words ‘comfortable shoe’ and assume they’re going to be boring, plain and out of fashion; this is rarely the case. Take the Dina Salmon Sandals, they are brightly coloured and perfect for the summer months. A pair of well-fitting sandals should be a wardrobe staple for all women during the summer months. Not only do they look great with a variety of different outfits and looks, but they’re a much comfier option for long days out.

Don’t underestimate the versatility of a good pair of light trousers.
Light trousers look great regardless of age or event, it’s just a case of finding a pair that you feel great in. Nowadays, summer trousers are available in different styles, lengths and colours – so there’s something for everyone! They are perfect for getting your wardrobe ready for summer as they look great teamed with anything. These Lala White Culottes are a versatile pair that are perfect for keeping cool at garden parties or shopping trips with friends.

Whether you’re looking for dresses for ascot or elegant dresses for work, don’t let the fact that it’s summer dishearten you. With a few staple pieces in the right type of fabric, you’ll find yourself with a great choice of stylish outfits that are as on trend as they are comfortable.

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The attire rules that a wedding guest has to abide by are perfectly simple 1) Don’t make it white, and 2) No outshining the bride. Two wedding guest dress rules that are so universal, they might as well come printed on the invitation. The first rule is easy to follow but there is something about number two that makes us rule-breakers. Maybe, it’s because daily life doesn’t offer enough fancy occasions to don heels and a frock. Whatever the reason, the struggle against the temptation to go big is real. This is why we are here to remind you that it’s still possible to be totally on form, while still making sure the bride shines the most.

Wedding Guest Dress Rules To Live By. . .

With our advice, you won’t get accused of thunder-stealing, but you will make a statement. Here are the ultimate things to consider when shopping for unusual guest wedding dresses:

Keep in mind: Florals

Florals are always a formal go-to, which means it’s easy to fall out of love with them as they seem to be on a continual loop. Fact is, if you turn up in the same ditsy print dress as a fellow wedding guest, it’s going to be noticed. It’s unfortunate, as there is a place for a floral print at a wedding but the print has to be current, with an on-trend twist. Think of orchids, palm leaves, oversized prints and whimsical additions like peacock feathers and foliage.

Keep in mind: Length and colour

Whether you are shopping for a summer wedding guest dress, autumn or winter, remember that the time and location of the wedding will influence both the colour and length of the dress. More often than not, an evening-do requires a maxi-length and can lend itself much better to colour (like jewel shades) than a day-time wedding. Wearing too solid a colour during the day is distracting in photographs (ditto for too sombre black). However, that doesn’t mean you have to shroud yourself in pastels! Instead of swaying to a deep colour pallet, look more at the chalk and dusty shades. These shades are famed for not washing out the skin tone but still letting you shine.

Keep in mind: Pastels

We did just slay pastel shades but let us back up and say that they do have a time and place for weddings. If you are a romantic soul by nature, then it’s befitting that you might wear pastels. Or, if you are sporting a beautiful holiday tan, then seek out pastels to emphasis it – just be strategic and avoid shapes which might stand to get you confused as a bridesmaid.

Keep in mind: It Doesn’t Have To Be A Dress

The minute that the wedding invitation arrives, almost all female wedding guests begin dreaming of dresses. Why not let yourself stand out from the wedding crowd by shopping from coordinates and one-pieces? Just take note that even if your abs are totally beach ready, a wedding is probably not the time to flaunt it – forgo the crop-top and don a jumpsuit!

It’s true, as a guest the wedding day isn’t about you – but we think it’s fine to want to shine! Think classy and chic, and you’ll go a long way to looking (appropriately) fabulous in your wedding guest dress (or jumpsuit!).

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I am an avid hoarder of autobiographical objects: of beer bottle tops, toy soldiers, dog eared books and shoes. I still own the black pencil skirt I bought in Bloomingdales, age sixteen, while falling in love with my first boyfriend. I own a pair of knee-high winter boots given to me on my eighteenth birthday, which walked me through a year of funerals, love affairs and friendships until the soles broke on a night bus between Clapham Junction and Swiss Cottage. Sunglasses from formative holidays, cocktail dresses from memorable evenings, stilettos from an awful break up. Like the protagonist in my most recent novel, The Museum of Cathy, each of these curated possessions represents a memory and tells a story.

My most precious piece of clothing is a silk patchwork ball dress with layers of voile under the skirt, which used to belong to my grandmother. It teeters somewhere between charmingly eccentric and really-quite-ugly, like what a Raggedy Ann doll might wear to a ballet recital. It’s knicker-flashing short at the front, long at the back, and sticks out like a tutu, but I love it.

My grandmother was hawk-eyed in a sale, so her wardrobe was full of eccentric bargains. As a badly dressed kid with birds nest curly hair and glasses often held together with tape, I used to love sneaking in there to touch her Ossie Clark jacket with red fabric buttons, her floor length Bill Gibb lace coat, her soft white silk blouses and odd cocktail dresses. “Vain trifles as they seem,” as Virginia Woolf writes in Orlando, clothes “change our view of the world and the world’s view of us.”

When my grandmother had the first of many subsequent strokes she began to pack away her daffodil yellow harem pants (unworn and with the label still attached), BIBA suede boots and perfumed cashmere. As her memories fell away, her high-necked Liberty dress with button cuffs no longer held meaning for her. It became complicated enough for her to keep the most basic sense of ‘self’, enough to be aware that she liked milk in her coffee and the smell of lavender, let alone think she might ever wake up one morning and be the sort of person who wears a purple velvet cap at a jaunty angle. So she gave it all away, putting much of it in boxes for me and my mother.

I adore all her clothes, but the ballgown somehow encapsulates her humour and sense of the absurd. I have worn it a few times, but mostly it’s a a memory object that sits, with a wink and a smile, in my wardrobe. Every time I see it I’m reminded of getting the giggles when she came back from a shopping expedition with it stuffed into a Waitrose bag (to avoid being found out by my grandfather), and tried to persuade me that a strapless pink patchwork ballgown would be a useful addition to the wardrobe of a gawky teenage girl who at the time mostly wore black jumpers and wanted to blend in.

“Nobody I know wears things like that,” I frowned, raising my hands reluctantly while she pulled a haze of bright pink over my head.

“You’ll love it one day,” she replied, doing up the zip with a flourish.

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Entrepreneur Venetia Archer had the idea for her beauty concierge app doing killer hours researching pirates as a risk analyst, and having absolutely no time to go and get her hair done. A positive dynamo, she showed off Body Frock’s latest capsule collection and some seriously good hair on a sunny afternoon in Chelsea.

If you had to list 3 must have items in your wardrobe what would they be?Jeans. Cropped, long, ripped, coloured, all of the above! Plus a chic winter coat and that fail safe dress (mine is a treasured black Alaia).

Can you remember your first item of clothing that made you feel like a grown up? What was it?A plastic pair of heels I received as a party gift when I was very small. I’ll never forget that moment, I thought I was absolute a bomb.

Joanna Nude Lace Dress By Body Frock

Do you have any major style faux pas?Yes! Early 2000s. Juicy couture, Von Dutch and Christian Dior. Labels everywhere, and so OTT.

Is there any piece of clothing you’ve always wanted to own? Why?
The Row did some black python leather leggings years ago and I have never forgotten them. Those, a white shirt and brand new all white Stan Smiths would make my dream outfit.

Louisa Dress By Body Frock

Would you say you are a shoes or a bag girl?
Shoes. I tend only to wear an envelope clutch as a bag, whereas I love all sorts of shoes. I am a big fan of trainers (Gucci and Stan Smith), and Aquazzurra heels.

Do you have an all time favourite style purchase?
Yes. A Prada sea anemone bag. Its dark red, with hundreds of studded tassels coming off. It’s my sea treasure and I’ll never let it go.

Molly the blogger behind the marvelously names Mother’s Always Right (if not ask gran) has found the perfect mum summer shoe. They can be put on in two seconds flat, are incredibly comfortable and have the potential to be worn with jeans, culottes, cotton dresses… you name it!

What is it about your outfit that makes you feel most comfortable?

Since having kids I’m definitely a convert to flats – but when you’re wearing trainers like these it doesn’t feel like a compromise. I love that these sneakers go with everything, including my current go-to wardrobe item for summer: culottes! Teamed with red culottes and a denim jacket, I’m comfy enough to run around after my two daughters but also feel stylish and up-to-date. This outfit does everything I need it to do and more.

If you had to list 3 must have items in your wardrobe what would they be?

Trainers! They go with everything and are perfect for the practicalities of busy mum life, but can also bring a new edge to most outfits. I really love putting trainers with unusual outfits – like teaming a pair of slip-on trainers with a pretty dress or smart pair of trousers for a whole new look. Pinafore dress – I have a couple of denim pinafores which have been great for both winter and summer. When it’s cold I layer them up with long sleeved tees or buttoned up shirts and thick tights, but in the summer I wear them with a vest or a light t’shirt. They’re so versatile and also incredibly comfortable. Culottes – I’m living in my culottes at the moment. They’re proving the ideal answer to our unpredictable UK weather as they’re the ultimate in-between outfit. I also love how they can be dressed up with a pair of pointy flats, smart top and statement jewellery (a look I recently wore to a friend’s wedding) or dressed down with trainers or Birkenstocks and a casual tee.

Laid-back and colourful! I’m often drawn to pattern and colour in my clothes and love toexperiment with new accessories and prints. My life as a busy working mum means I need clothes that work as hard as I do, so there’s no point investing in killer heels or ball gowns as I’d have nowhere to wear them!

Can you remember your first item of clothing that made you feel like a grown up? What was it?

Last summer my mum (an incredible seamstress – she made my wedding dress!) made me a beautiful midi length shirt dress from a vintage Vogue pattern she’d had since the
1980s. I adore it and feel like a proper grown-up when I wear it in the summer. My mum had a similar version back in the 80s when I was growing up.

I love Fern Cotton’s style and often hanker after her outfits. She’s not afraid to experiment and is a fellow trainer lover. The A Beautiful Mess sisters (Elsie and Emma) are another two of my style crushes. They always look fun and don’t take fashion too seriously. Fritha from Tigerlilly Quinn has a real flair for putting vintage outfits together and is a fellow colour and print lover. And I love Erica Davies from The Edited’s take on style. She always seems to find the most flattering shapes and sources outfits that I can see myself wearing.

Do you have any major style faux pas?

I was really into Indie music as a teen and had a huge crush on Blur’s Damon Albarn. His girlfriend at the time was Justine Frischmann, the lead singer of Elastica, who had this very cool, cropped directional haircut. I decided it would be a good idea to get a Justine. Worst mistake ever. I came out of the salon looking more like Chesney Hawkes – earning me the nickname Little Man with the older and less forgiving kids at school!

Is there a piece of clothing you’ve always wanted to own? Why?

Pretty much since the dawn of time I’ve wanted a leather jacket. I’ve nearly bought one SO many times, but never quite taken the leap and made the decision. I think I’m always looking for the perfect one and have been searching so long now I’m not sure I’d even recognise it if I found it!

Shoes, definitely. In fact, the only bags I currently own are baby change bags!

Do you have an all time favourite style purchase?

I’m far too fickle to just choose one. If you ask me today I’ll say my culottes, but tomorrow it might be my ripped boyfriend jeans. Next week it’ll likely be my denim pinafore. Saying that though, I do have a gorgeous coat I live in during the colder months. I won it on eBay for the grand sum of £2.41 and it goes with almost every outfit I own. Best £2.41 I’ve ever spent!